Fortified village of Mont-Dauphin

Located on a vast rocky promontory at the crossroads of several valleys, the fortified village of Mont-Dauphin testifies to the power of Louis XIV. In 1692, as part of the War of the League of Augsburg (conflict between the Kingdom of France and the Jacobites (name given to the supporters of the dethroned Stuart dynasty in Great Britain) to a coalition of eight European sovereigns), the Duke of Savoy led a raid with an army of 40,000 men in the Durance Valley, in the heart of the Alps.  The cities of Guillestre, Embrun and Gap are looted and partially destroyed.Louis XIV then became aware of the lack of defense of the French kingdom on this Alpine border. He sent Vauban (then Commissioner General for Fortifications) to inspect the territory to find a solution.Vauban arrives in the Alps in autumn 1692 and notices the Mille Vents plateau.  Located about twenty kilometers from the Col de Vars through which the Duke of Savoy passed, this rocky promontory is ideally located and allows to monitor the four surrounding valleys